Energy
by Hidden Leaf xx
Summary: Kakashi and Sakura are forced to explore new foundations of their relationship when a simple mission becomes compromised. A/N: I had this first chapter posted on here not too long ago but took it off when I had some stressful things happen. It's back!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I plan on making this a 10-20 chapter fiction. Sakura is currently seventeen in this story, making Kakashi thirty-one (Poor old sensei!). I've been slowly updating my profile when I have the time. I plan on putting some links on there too as well.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or any of the characters (sadly); I just have fun with them! (:

**Also! **Anyone who does Kaka/Saku drawings, please contact me! Along with that, if you have a deviant art username, contact me as well!

**One more thing… **Review, please and thanks! I'll make it worth your while. Reviews help me with writing more chapters and more stories so I would appreciate it if you dropped a comment here and there. (:

And with that said, here's **Chapter One** of **Energy.**

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"Oi, Sakura…do you have a tampon?"

Haruno Sakura struggled to hold onto the last bit of patience and composure that she had left after such an agonizingly long and tired day. It didn't help that her ignorant teammate Naruto was yelling obscenities at the top of his lungs-in unfamiliar territory, mind you-to a nonchalant Uchiha Sasuke, who stood over Sakura's petite form, arms crossed over his broad chest while nudging her every few seconds with his foot just underneath her ribcage to get any type of response from the irate kunoichi.

"-stupid piece of shit! Now my nose is broken and Sakura-Chan isn't gonna heal me because she's already mad at me! Oi, BAKA! I'm talking to you!"

The pink-haired woman wanted more than anything at that exact moment to just be home instead of _here_-wherever _here_ was-and take a nice and long, hot shower to wash away the build-up of grubbiness and sweat due to one hard day of traveling through Fire to Wind on a mission that seemed almost pointlessly stupid. In a way, Sakura guessed that was a good thing. Missions had been pretty quiet for the most part these past couple of months and that was probably due to the glorious fact that Leaf wasn't wagering or being caught in the middle of any wars recently. Sakura concluded that Tsunade-sama just wanted to keep them-or more specifically, Team Seven-up to par and not let them slack off, as what usually happens when not that many missions are handed out over a certain amount of time.

The mission was simple enough, almost too simple it seemed. Team Seven was supposed to travel to Wind to bring back a valuable gem and return it safely to the hands of the Godaime. Sakura didn't know about any of the "smarter" teammates in her group, but she thought the mission a little too fishy for her liking. It was an A-Class mission after all, but for a simple gem? Was she the only one debating on whether or not her shishou was dealting them bullshit missions or was there something more to this gem then they all thought?

A firm grip on her upper arm broke the pink-haired kunoichi from her thoughts as she was hauled up to her feet in a sharp manner.

"Tampon, Sakura?" Sasuke smirked, not relinquishing his tight hold on her bicep.

Sakura's face took a momentary look of horror as to why her very much so _male_teammate would want a tampon, of all things!

"Um…if you don't mind me asking, why-"

"Naruto's nose bleed."

"TEME!!"

"Yo."

The team fell silent as a tall, silver-haired ninja sat on a branch not far above Naruto, though not too distant from Sakura and Sasuke's little pow wow they had going on either. The cool and collected, yet excruciatingly lazy copy ninja held up a hand in his signature wave as his right eye creased in his friendly greeting.

Suddenly the quietness of the arrival of their team leader was destroyed as soon as Sakura opened her loud mouth in a furry of annoyance.

"Kakashi-sensei, thank _Kami_! I feel like I'm babysitting when you're out doing whatever you're doing! You can watch them now!"

Sakura whipped her arm away from Sasuke's rendering grasp and bent down to pick up her pack and stomped off towards the enticing sound of a nearby stream that lay close by to the camp that Team Seven had set up, but far enough away to have her own privacy unless Naruto hadn't gotten the hint that Sakura needed her own space and time for a while. Though if the obnoxious blonde ninja did not abide by Sakura's unspoken pledge, there was going to be hell to pay.

Hopefully her male teammates were wise enough to understand that Sakura was human and naturally, just like every other human being in the world, she needed time to cool off. The irate kunoichi had been rather indignant today and it was only normal to need alone time to unscramble her thoughts and bring peace to herself.

But it was Team Seven she was talking about.

Sakura had undressed herself rather quickly, except for her bindings and panties, which she had brought plenty of, in need of the soothing water to relax her burning muscles and wash off the grubbiness and stink she had gained throughout the day of the ongoing mission. If Sakura hated one thing, it was the feeling of being dirty and sweaty.

As she made her way into the frigid water, she almost melted at how nice it felt on her heated skin. And finally, when she couldn't help it any longer, she dunked her whole body, including her head, under the water and just floated underneath the surface of the stream for a good thirty seconds.

It was nice, almost too nice, and it felt absolutely _amazing_ to get away from her male teammates and have somewhat of a peaceful scenery to admire as she came up for air.

But things never did last and Sakura had to admit that she wasn't one bit surprised to see her teammates approaching the small stream shirtless, Naruto rambling about something unimportant probably while Sasuke and Kakashi did their best to ignore him.

Even though Sakura had been expecting them to follow her, this did not make her feel any less stressed or angry that they had not respected her one and only simple wish.

Immersing herself back under the water as she warmed up to the temperature, she tried not to clench her teeth as a loud splash resounded quite a few feet away from where Sakura was swimming around; the splash probably being one of Naruto's famous cannonballs.

It suddenly occurred to her at that exact moment how comfortable she was with her testosterone-wired teammates. Being the only female on the team, she had grown quite accustomed to all of the male_happenings_. Being that included morning wood, wet dreams, and never ending talk of womanly features and it didn't gross her out unlike it more than likely would with Hinata or Ten-Ten.

Sakura felt very at home when sharing bedrolls with Naruto, Sasuke, or even Kakashi. It never felt odd to her or anything of the sort; she had known all three of them for the majority of her ninja days and trusted all of them with her life as they did her with their lives.

And of course, the pink-haired kunoichi had unfortunately seen flashes of southward regions of nearly all three of her comrades. It was something she had not asked for, obviously, though when being paired up with Naruto or even Sasuke, she really had no warnings when it was time to relieve themselves of urine or anything of the sort.

Even when injured and their injuries were unfortunately close to _that_area, with Sakura being the brilliant medic she was, it was not in her position to get all queasy and hot and bothered when she had to strip them of their pants.

Of course, with them being men, they would smirk or make crude comments whenever a situation like that ever occurred, even if it were just yearly checkups.

Men (pigs would be a better suited name). Can't live with em. Can't live without em.

"Oiiiiiii! Sasuke-Teme! Come join me and Sakura-Chan!" Naruto bellowed as he resurfaced somewhere near right of the distressed kunoichi.

Sasuke didn't need much urging on after that. He too took off at a dead sprint into the stream of the glacial temperature waters until he was deep enough to where he had to dog paddle.

Sakura floated on nearby as Sasuke dipped under the icy water to only reappear right behind a babbling Naruto. Even though Sakura was angry and quite annoyed with the men's behavior of following her into the stream after she had made it pretty evident that she wanted some alone time, the look Sasuke sent her as he slowly rose his head out of the water was enough to keep her mouth shut from warning Naruto that he was about to get dunked by his arrival and best friend.

Not that she cared anyway. In her opinion, Naruto deserved to be more than dunked by the Uchiha.

Soon after Sasuke had put his hands on top of Naruto's wet head, he pushed with all his might and down did the annoying, boisterous blonde go and the look on Naruto's face was priceless as he ate a mouthful of water.

There was going to be hell for Sasuke.

Soon after Naruto came up sputtering and pissed, the lazy copy ninja made his presence known as he walked on top of the calm water, effectively molding his chakra perfectly as he made his way towards the unoccupied resident of the stream.

Having Sasuke prank Naruto not too long ago had gave Sakura some sly ideas herself as she saw her silver-haired sensei approach her, clad in only his common ANBU pants, the waistline hanging dangerously loose around his slender hips. Hopefully her low thoughts did not make present upon her face.

"Kakashi-sensei, don't you want to take a little dip? The water isn't _that_ cold, I promise." Sakura said slyly, her jade eyes glinting with mischief. Hesitant small hands slid around her sensei's bare ankles, tightening her grip ever so slowly.

She knew he could feel her, that wasn't a doubt, but the thought of him letting her touch him like that was a little shocking. Kakashi was careful of others invading his space; not that touching his ankles was invading his space much, but nonetheless, he had allowed her to.

Sakura knew her poor, old sensei wasn't a fool, as much as she wanted to argue that sometimes. He had to know what she was up to…

"Nay, Sakura-Chan, you know I don't like getting wet. If you suddenly decide to test me on that…" Kakashi said in a low, threatening voice that was all too familiar to her. It was a tone that meant trouble if she decided to proceed with what she was thinking. He knew what she was thinking.

To hell with repercussions and consequences! It was just a joke and he would understand and they would all laugh about it afterwards! Especially when they saw the state that his hair would be in afterwards.

Molding her chakra to her hands, Sakura gave a firm yank as she tugged her sensei into the chilly waters. With a loud splash and splatter, there was no sign of the Copy Ninja and suddenly Sakura regretted having him in the stream with her in such close proximity. Especially after the face that she had disobeyed him and now, thinking more clearly, there probably was going to be dirty hell to pay for it.

Thinking that maybe she had time to make a quick escape, although Sakura knew her good old sensei better than that, she kicked in the water to propel herself forward, only to find that a strong hand had seized her right below her right leg.

Too late.

In a matter of seconds, she was powerfully pulled underneath the frigid water to be pulled flush against rock hard muscle that Sakura could only guess was the plain of her sensei's chest.

Now, there were countless times when Haruno Sakura had had to deal with vicinity of certain teammates; all of which were for the better sakes of their missions and not usually by choice. There was a time when Sakura had needed to act the role play of being the wife of Uchiha Sasuke. Talk about awkward times much, but they laughed about the whole ordeal many days later.

There was also another rare time when Kakashi and Sakura played an undercover, ordinary pair on a three month long mission. The mission was surprisingly silly, but it called for two of the most elite ninja Konoha had at the time and what better ninja to pair up together than Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura themselves, as they had worked together for a very long time?

This mission seemed a little too overrated in bringing back a silly little sword by all means necessary. Sakura had underestimated the mission quite a bit and she had to admit even her sensei probably had too, though he would never admit that to her. It was a terrible mistake to underestimate a mission based on the briefings.

After gauging and timing exactly when and where the guards at the entryway left after their post was done, Kakashi and Sakura had found themselves able to sneak inside like it was the easiest thing in the world, soon after snooping around the large chamber filled with lots of secret valuables that that certain Hidden Village had found important. Kakashi had noted that many of its' items had been stolen. Sakura couldn't seem to argue with him, what with all his background knowledge but also due to the fact that the village they had taken residence in for the three longest months of Sakura's life had been the scummiest, dirtiest village she had ever visited in all of her life.

As Kakashi and Sakura had been searching the chamber as quietly as possible, guards seemed to have broken their constant procedure of guarding the only door in and out of the chamber and came back sooner than expected.

Had her partner been someone else, Sakura would have downright panicked and not thinking, would go out with a fight, though that would ruin their mission and in the end, that was not an option because terminated missions never looked good.

But since the pink-haired kunoichi was paired up with ever famous Hatake Kakashi, the one and only Copy Ninja that she knew of, she knew she could trust her partner with finding a way that they would make it out of this chamber just fine.

Except his method of "survival" was complete and utter shock to her. The only way that Hatake Kakashi, a brilliant genius, could find a way out of this for both of them to be alive and their cover still hidden, was to shove Sakura plush against the wall and give the notion that they were just lovers that had stumbled in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But did the elusive, smut-reading man had to go so far as to attack her lips in such a way, that if they weren't putting on a show to save the guards from choosing between life or death for them, Sakura might've actually thought he was rather quite enjoying himself? And seriously…was unbuttoning her kimono halfway down to showing her lacy, black bra supporting her apparent cleavage and lifting her against the wall, forcing her to wrap her strong legs around his middle while he attacked her lips in a not so subtle way really necessary?

Well, they had made it out alive, given the benefit of the doubt, and Kakashi had been a little sneak and had successfully stolen the sword during their little "misfit" in the chamber and had hid the sword well within the confines of his robe.

At the end of the day, when it was all said and done, the mission was graded a great success and their employer was ever the more happy so that made Tsunade-Sama delighted which had definitely made Kakashi and Sakura even more happy than they already were in having that mission over and done with.

So it wasn't a question that Sakura had seen herself in many situations when she would have to get up close and personal with her teammates to sacrifice for the mission, but that didn't explain then why all of a sudden she felt rushes of emotions and tenseness and feelings she probably shouldn't have been feeling when Kakashi pulled her flush against him.

Was he testing her in a way that only Hatake Kakashi himself knew the motives? Was he playing her? What exactly _was_ he playing at?

Any rightful thoughts that Sakura had been thinking at that exact moment flung out the window as they resurfaced, Sakura gasping for air while Kakashi's breathing remained steadily even.

"I tried warning you, _Sakura,_" Kakashi emphasized on her name, dropping the suffix off, which wasn't unusual but in this situation, he was trying to get a point across. And boy did Kakashi-sensei get that point across. Especially when he practically breathed it onto her neck and ear.

"You just didn't want to-"

"Kaka-sensei! Why are there two ANBU on the shore?"

Thank _Kami _for Naruto and his loudmouth sometimes because Sakura wasn't sure what she would've done if Kakashi continued to hold her against him like he currently had been and speaking words that closely to her. The pink-haired kunoichi guessed that her lazy, old sensei thought nothing of the close proximity; all the more reason Sakura was glad Naruto had interrupted and that two ANBU clad ninja _were _in fact standing on the shore.

Kakashi let go of Sakura, almost reluctantly it seemed, and dove right under the pink-haired kunoichi, the tips of her toes barely brushing the Copy Ninja's naked back. He didn't come up for another breath until he basically reached the shore and gradually strolled towards the two ANBU, as if it wasn't the biggest deal in the world.

The three remaining teammates of Team Seven slowly came together in the water, seriousness settling in between all of them. It wasn't everyday on a mission where you found two Konoha ANBU sauntering around like it was one of the most normal things you could imagine because in reality, ANBU _never_ interfered with missions unless it was for backup or some sort.

"What do you think is going on?" Naruto whispered as he bobbed up and down in the water as the blonde ninja closely studied the situation going on before them.

Both Sasuke and Sakura remained quiet until one of the ANBU lifted his mask so it sat perched on top of their head and Sakura recognized right away who it was and by damn, Sakura was going to remain in that freezing water if she wanted to preserve what little dignity she had left after the incident with Kakashi.

"Since when is Genma ANBU?" Sasuke asked curiously, which was a rare sight for the usually withdrawn raven-haired man. Anything ANBU related always piqued Sasuke's interest, possibly due to the fact that Sasuke had yet to achieve that rank.

Well that's what leaving your home village for three years did to someone.

Sakura felt rather relatively safe in the waters, seeing as it was mostly all business with Kakashi until said man turned around and waved over all three of his minors.

_Fabulous._

This was going to be interesting.

Naruto and Sasuke swam through the water until they could jog over to the fuss ahead of them with Sakura running behind them to use their tall, broad figures to shield herself from Genma's soon to be prying eyes.

As they reached the shore, the other ANBU shoved his mask on top of his head as well and this mask revealed Yamato, a familiar face to both Naruto and Sakura. The tall, yet strikingly intimidating man had been their old team leader from four years ago.

Suddenly Sakura was very thankful that Hatake Kakashi was her leader.

"Sakura? Care to join us?" The sound of Kakashi's smooth voice rolled in waves on the tense air as both Sasuke and Naruto stepped aside to reveal a cold, teeth-chattering seventeen year old kunoichi.

Something about Kakashi's casual, yet stern and commanding voice seemed to call a certain respect about him and abruptly end the playful banter that the two had encountered not too long before, though the two ANBU clad men had ended that quite easily.

Sakura suddenly felt all eyes on her and she could've sworn the senbon-sucking man went a little further down than just her face. Thank Kami she had left her bindings and panties on unlike she usually didn't, though that still didn't keep a pink, hot blush from creeping into her face as she noticed Genma smirking at her in a way that was far too inappropriate for what was going on.

"Nice to see you again, Naruto and Sakura." Yamato smiled, flicking his gaze over to the tall, daunting Uchiha. "Sasuke, I don't think we've met. I'm Yamato."

With Sasuke being the ever cheerful and polite man whom he was so very known to be, the raven-haired man gave a slight "Hn" in Yamato's direction. It seemed that Team Kakashi's replacement captain wasn't expecting anything more or less from the typical closed-off ninja or maybe he just hid his perturbation very well.

"Anyways, we've already covered details with Kakashi-senpai and he can explain them further to you because we have a tight schedule to run by and we must depart soon-"

"Unfortunately," Genma tsked, the senbon rolling between his lips as he fixed his watch back over to Sakura, who in return wanted to shrink behind either Naruto or Sasuke once again.

Yamato brushed an annoyed glance in Genma's direction.

"I will not have anymore interruptions so I would advise you to keep your mouth shut please." Yamato bit out, causing Naruto to somewhat shiver in fear as the aggravated ANBU continued on with his briefing.

"As I was saying, I would like to make this short so if you have any questions, please wait until the end. Now, where was I? Oh yes, your mission has been aborted by the wishes of the Gondaime. She has brought back all current teams out on missions due to the fact that there has been Akatsuki sightings throughout the Fire Country and into Wind Territory."

Immediately, Team Seven's attention span increased wholesome as "Akatsuki sightings" were mentioned. This instantly compelled Sasuke to give his one hundred and ten percent awareness to the man giving the update on their mission.

Akatsuki meant finding the Kyuubi container, which inevitably was bad for Naruto.

But Akatsuki also meant Itachi, which was critical for Sasuke.

It was a double loss situation, no doubt.

"The fifth has ordered that Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke follow us back to Konoha or else face severe consequences." Yamato finished, folding his muscular arms over his expansive chest, eyes glinting with some sort of sentiment that Sakura couldn't put a name to.

But did Yamato, Genma, and even Tsunade really, truly believe that just because the fifth ordered so, it was going to force Naruto and Sasuke back home? Did Tsunade really think they were going to give up so easily?

Swiftly, the atmosphere changed from somewhat tense to all out on-edge and unsureness of what was going to happen.

"Akatsuki…" Naruto spat, his hands on his sides clenching into shaking fists in an almost dangerous way that Sakura had seen one too many times that always led to something more treacherous.

"What about Kakashi and Sakura?" Sasuke suddenly said, a malicious glint making itself known in his beautifully, exquisite sharingan eyes. Even though the sharingan was a mystic wonder and would always fascinate Sakura in how mysteriously gorgeous and frightening they were, the sharingan had its treacherous downfall and anyone caught in the middle of its dangerous side was sure enough going to either die or become very, _very_ badly injured.

"Kakashi and Sakura have been asked to trace Akatsuki's movements. Not engage, just simply trace. Sakura is a profound medic and Kakashi's tracking would make them an almost inevitable, perfect two-man cell and incase anything were to happen, Sakura's exceptional healing abilities would come in use. That is why Tsunade has asked them to continue on while you two drop back." Yamato explained, his justification most reasonable. "Naruto, Sasuke, you must understand the fifth is doing this for you safety and in the end, that is one of the things that counts the most. Konoha can't afford to lose two brilliant ninja and if you would think not of your selfishness but of the future ninja world, what could possibly happen if Akatsuki captured Naruto? You would be the last Jinchuuriki Akatsuki would need to complete their goal. Life would be chaos from then on and thousands and thousands of innocent people as well as us ninja would crumble."

Hearing what everyone had been thinking the moment Yamato mentioned Akatsuki in words was almost mind-boggling as everyone took a few seconds to think over Yamato's wise words. Hidden villages across the world would fall to Akatsuki and life really would be a never ending cycle of chaos. Nobody wanted that to happen.

It wasn't going to be easy to accept, but in the end, Sakura knew Sasuke and Naruto would both make the right choice in following Yamato and Genma back to the village. If they wanted to keep world peace, that's what they would in the end decide.

As for Sasuke, revenge would have to come another day it seemed.

"Do we have an agreement?" Yamato asked, glancing between both Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi waited patiently, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he waited for the answer he knew was coming. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't afford to say no.

With a solemn nod, Naruto stepped forward as he looked back towards Sasuke, expecting him to follow him. "When do we leave?" The usually rambunctious ninja asked, though his tone of voice was anything but rambunctious right now.

"Right now." Yamato declared, his eyes moving swiftly to Sasuke. "You coming?"

It was hesitant and it took a while, but a few moments later, Sasuke gave a faint nod and the deal was done.

Naruto turned back around to walk towards Sakura and gave her a last hug, holding his dear cherry blossom close as he rested his chin on top of her pink tresses as his strong and comforting arms wrapped around the petite teen.

Sakura returned the warm hug and rubbed Naruto's bare back as he whispered a faint "Be careful, Sakura-Chan." But it was enough and it was all Sakura needed as Naruto reluctantly let his pink-haired teammate go, turning back around towards Yamato, Genma, and Sasuke to pick up their packs and lost articles of clothing.

Sasuke's departing goodbye wasn't as warm and amiable as Naruto's, but the look in Sasuke's eyes bittersweet eyes said enough as the four men jumped off into the surrounding trees. It was going to be a while, but Sakura knew she would see them all fairly soon again, depending on how long this new mission of Kakashi's and Sakura's lasted.

"We should probably go rest. We have a long day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow." Kakashi's velvety voice rang out as the silver-haired Copy Ninja turned to pick up his things as well and stalked off back into the trees in which their camp was set up.

Sakura gave a melodious sigh as she too picked up her scattered contents and her pack as well and pursued her ex-sensei into camp.

Kami be with her, Haruno Sakura could already tell it was going to be a long,_ long _mission.

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_End of Chapter One. Hope ya'll liked it!_

_Reviews=love._


	2. Chapter 2

I DON'T OWN NARUTO, SO HELP ME KAMI.

yeah, here's **Chapter Two **of** Energy**.

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Hatake Kakashi knew it was trouble as soon as he had stepped through that expensive, wooden mullion that led inside a rather large, yet extravagant lobby of probably one of the finest hotels that the Copy Ninja had ever stepped foot into. The sign out front had read "Reasonably Priced!" and that then and there should have been all the warning in the world that the silver-haired man needed to book out of that entryway as soon as he had laid his over speculating eyes upon it.

But what was a man supposed to do? Kakashi could tell that his female ex-student had been dealing with the weariness of traveling for such a prolonged time for quite awhile and admittedly, he was too. His legs burned and fatigue was starting to settle in and if it was now starting to bother the ever experienced Hatake Kakashi, he couldn't even imagine how his pink-haired teammate was holding up.

They had been traveling ever since dawn of this morning; cutting in-between rogue territory and weaving in and out of the mountains that lay in Wind Country and Rock. Kakashi had set a nice, firm pace for them to go by to reach their destination in an insignificant, small village for them to rest and go over their plans in more detail, stopping only once or twice to catch their breath and allowing their bodies to keep up with the extensive use of their muscles and maybe eat some here and there.

Kakashi had preferred to lounge in a reasonably standard tavern, not really caring for anything too expensive or nice; just something to sleep, shower and eat in.

Sakura, on the other hand, had been walking side by side with Kakashi and what she saw from the corner of her eye was enough to make her do a double take and a double take she surely did.

The petite kunoichi knew right away that her ex-sensei had seen it, for that she was certain. In a way, that had angered the pink haired teen but all anger and indignant feelings toward her ex-sensei flew out the window as she allowed her jade speckled eyes to take in the wonderful site before him.

There was no way she _wasn't _spending the next couple of long nights in _that_ hotel.

So Haruno Sakura had gotten her way.

Hatake Kakashi remained silent and rather indifferent, what with all the gorgeous and voluptuous women of the hotel staff running around in beautifully, custom made kimonos that were surely handed out by the hotel to draw in "attention". Sakura would normally expect the Copy Ninja to stop dead in his tracks while his visible eye popped ten feet out of his eye socket as he took in all the risky temptations of being on such a grim mission, but Haruno Sakura was no fool and she knew way better than that to expect anything of the sort, let alone _anything_, from her silver-haired sensei. If Hatake Kakashi was one thing, it was easygoing and imperturbable and almost _nothing_ could knock that man off his guard nor feet.

Kakashi approached the front desk lazily, Sakura treading slowly in wonder behind him. The walls were at least almost thirty to forty feet high with decorations such as pictures, clocks, plants (fake or not) and a colossal, dazzling chandelier hanging about ten feet down from the a top of the ceiling, shedding light all over the lobby of the hotel. Sky lights dotted the dome, allowing rays of sky light to flood the room in an almost surreal manner.

Sakura had been so focused on her surroundings that she hadn't noticed Kakashi had stopped at the front desk and ran straight into his hard, muscular back, bouncing off easily and almost tripping over her own two clumsy feet. If it weren't for Kakashi's suddenly saving grip on her upper arm, Sakura would've fallen straight on her bottom.

The young female behind the counter tried to stifle a giggle but failed in doing so which caused Sakura to narrow her eyes dangerously, ripping her arm away from Kakashi's steady grip.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" The woman behind the counter asked shyly, a hint of sarcasm in her high pitched voice, leaning on the desk in an almost provoking manner, trying her hardest to gain Kakashi's attention, which she failed miserably at.

"I'm fine." Sakura bit out, throwing an annoyed glance at her ex-sensei who only chuckled at her abhorrent response.

"Long day of traveling," Kakashi said cheerfully, almost too cheerfully for having just spent a whole day of running consistently with little to none breaks and having dealt with all the slime and sweat of it all as the silver-haired man wrapped a firm arm around Sakura's petite shoulders, about crushing her lithe body to his much taller statute. "We just need some days to recuperate and relax."

Sakura was used to this form of composure. Kakashi was only getting "personal" to appear as a regular, everyday couple to have their mission remain undercover and themselves as well so as not to draw unneeded attention that would draw harm for them in future times.

If they were secretly going to follow Akatsuki, they needed to remain _completely _off the radar, no matter what it took. They were in foreign territory now and if Akatsuki was nearby roaming, it would not be good for the two members of Team Seven to be sought out and for their names to be heard. They were both high-class, powerfully strong ninja and it didn't help that the Copy Ninja was famous all around the ninja world due to the infamous Bingo Book and that word had obviously gotten around that Sakura was the legendary Sannin's favored pupil.

They had a lot going against them.

"Well you came to just the right place!" The brunette woman piped, drawing a long pen in her hands as her hand hovered over a scroll of paper that had names scrolled over it in a neat, line by line form and their room numbers next to their names. "Your names please?"

"Shiranui Genma," Kakashi blatantly lied, using his signature eye crinkle as he hugged Sakura even closer, not caring that she was almost _forced_ to rest a timid hand on her ex-sensei's hard, broad chest, feeling all the muscles ripple beneath the layers of clothing her wore as she wrapped an arm around Kakashi's-or _Genma's_-slender waist.

"And this would be my beautiful wife Yamanaka Ino."

And suddenly, everything got very, _very_ tense.

Tense because Haruno Sakura did _not _like to be compared or measured up to her blonde best friend, yet her all time rival who unfortunately had curves that could give Tsunde a run for her money.

And the fact that Hatake Kakashi had picked her, out of all the women floundering around Konoha, he just _had _to pick Ino.

That didn't settle very well with a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

Though as soon as Sakura had gotten over her abrupt moment of self-anger and pity, Sakura glanced over at the strikingly attractive woman behind the desk after having thrown her ex-sensei an annoyed look, her movements and facial features all but paused momentarily. Sakura thought it odd at first, but as impulsive realization hit her, Sakura had to turn away from Kakashi and bite back a laugh that was surely going to make her look suspicious.

Haruno Sakura was so used to this happening, the only thing that made sense as to why it happened so much was that it was karma for Kakashi always being late to many important things and for reading smitten filled novels out in public. Sakura had warned Kakashi that one day it would all catch up to him and he wouldn't even know what hit him when it did.

"I-I'm sorry?" The woman stuttered, her eyes a look of horror as she backed away unexpectedly, almost tripping over the chair with wheels that sat a few feet behind her.

Kakashi's visible eye widened a fraction until he realized what exactly was going on. The Copy Ninja's lazy posture returned in full throttle and he pulled Sakura back to him swiftly, surprising the kunoichi because normally when this type of thing happened, things grew awkward and Kakashi kept his distance until they were safe and sound in their hotel room.

"What's your name again?" Kakashi probed, tilting his head a bit to the right to look at her more fully.

"Ma-Matsuri?" The curvy woman faltered, confused as to if she really had said her name at all before.

"Matsuri? Well, _Matsuri_," Kakashi emphasized, running his hand that had been tightly wrapped around Sakura's agile waist slowly and provocatively down to her rump, resting there as if he had every right to-except in this case, Kakashi _did _have the right and Sakura wasn't sure if she was too fond of that idea or not. "I know what you're thinking and frankly it's not true. She is not my daughter or younger sister-"

"I was actually thinking grandchild…" Matsuri squeaked, folding her arms over her large bosom as she looked everywhere but at Kakashi and Sakura.

Sakura tried, really, _really_ tried, but the laugh that she had been holding back came out in unladylike snort that caused both occupants around her to stare at her; Matsuri's one of shock and Kakashi's one of perturbance and unusual emotion that she had only seen on rare occasions that promised repercussions for later perhaps.

Sakura's cackling immediately stopped.

"Right, well keys please?" Kakashi said with fake pleasantness in his unusually tight voice, still crushing Sakura to him even as she tried to wiggle from his steel-like grip.

"Room four-ninety three, on your left." Matsuri practically sighed in relief, about throwing the keys at Kakashi as he snatched them swiftly and all but dragged Sakura across the hotel lobby until they reached the elevator to their room.

"I wonder how Sakura's doing." Naruto sighed, sitting as he rested on a random log of wood that the blonde ninja had found in the Fire Country's infamous woods, poking at the fire before him as Sasuke remained commonly quiet; except this night held a different kind of quietness.

"Hn," Sasuke sounded, trying to come off as cool and indifferent, but even his best friend Uzamaki Naruto knew better than what the cold Uchiha was relaying to the public. If Yamato and Genma noticed, which they probably didn't, they didn't show any signs of caring.

"I'm sure she's just fine, Naruto." Yamato reassured, giving a somewhat pleasant smile as he stretched to crack his back a few good times. "You just worry too much. It's gonna get you into trouble someday, if it hasn't already."

Naruto scrunched his face in detest, getting up off his small log to wander towards a small hill nearby their setup camp. Climbing up the hill with great ease, the obnoxious blonde stopped at the top, near the edge, as he gazed at the many bright stars that littered the night sky.

A cool, night breeze whipped Naruto's blonde hair around as he sat down, folding his legs under him as he leaned back on his muscular arms.

Sure, the Kyuubi Container was passionate about what he did and sure, he did _tend_ to worry about his teammates and those he cared about most while on missions, but his past had made it so. He had grown up a loner and an outsider all his life up until recently he had lived his days alone. It was only natural that he cling to his original Team Seven teammates and perhaps the occasional "Konoha's Rookie Nine".

Yamato could take that number one rule of the ninja guidebook that they had learned at the academy and gladly shove it up his ass because that rule was for heartless bastards who lost the meaning of what "best friends" and "lovers" meant.

Uzamaki Naruto knew for a fact that he would not be the same man he was today if it weren't for the people that influenced his life and of the things that hadn't happened when he was younger.

Sure, Naruto was a fanatical ninja, but he had every right to be. He had three people who he cared the world for and loved the most out of everyone he had ever met.

And there wasn't one thing in his life that was going to stop him from ever doing so.

_SLAM!_

Haruno Sakura couldn't remember nor recall the last time she had seen Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy Ninja, so angry and so blatant about his emotions!

There were only a handful (not even that!) of times where Sakura had seen her teacher just a _little_ angry. The first being Team Seven's first training day.

Team Seven figured Kakashi wasn't really fond of his students, or anyone for that matter, disobeying his clearly set directions. It must be an adult thing.

Sakura did a quick replay of the events that had led him to being so pissed off and tense.

So the pretty-looking lady had called the man old, basically. So what? Kakashi had been called old many times before, along with other numerous names, yet it had never affected him in such a way where Sakura had to watch what actually came out of her usual lippy mouth so as not to further piss him off.

So why was this time so different?

The pink-haired kunoichi had observed well as she was forced to pace side by side the venting man, his strong arm still holding her tightly to him. Kakashi about punched the elevator button that had led up to level four as the doors swung open before them, causing Sakura's heart to quicken as she now had to face the fact that she now had to be alone with him.

In other cases it would be different. Sakura didn't mind being alone with Kakashi not one bit. In fact, he was probably the one person the kunoichi was quite comfortable being alone with; the other being Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura was only nervous and hesitant this time due to the fact she didn't know if she was the one to blame for his sudden bad mood or what was going to happen behind closed doors.

Hidden innuendo much?

Either way, Haruno Sakura knew deep in her heart that Kakashi wouldn't dare hurt her or anything of the sort. He had made a promise back in Team Seven's genin days stating he would protect them with his life. He had yet to break his promise and Sakura knew he wouldn't be breaking his promise anytime soon.

"You might want to change out of that," Kakashi murmured, seeming to have calmed down a great deal as he strode towards one of the many windows that lined the wall opposite the door they entered, glancing out at the mid-bustling city below.

The silver-haired ninja's comment caught Sakura off guard, causing her to spin around in shock.

"W-What?"

"We're going out. There's a bar down the street from where we're staying. If you don't want to come with me, that's fine but I'm going."

Sakura paused for a moment as Kakashi peered down at her from a distance away, his only visible eye seeming to scrutinize her closely. Sakura could not keep count of how many times the man looked at her like that. The look he was giving her was enough to make her shake in her own boots! Though Hatake Kakashi, the weirdest man the pink-haired kunoichi had ever met in her life, seem so unaffected by the whole situation.

Well that's Kakashi for you.

Sakura really tried her hardest not to complain but seriously, how did Ino feel comfortable in _wearing_ clothes like this all the damn time? The curvaceous blonde had assured Sakura it would've been worth it, but now, what with Naruto and Sasuke gone from the mission, Sakura wished she would packed some extra "outing" clothing to wear because this dress wasn't doing it for her, especially with Kakashi being the only one left on the mission.

The black dress came up dangerously high on her strong legs and hung on her like a second skin; the silky material hugging her thighs as if it were holding on for dear life (and in a way it was). The garb outlined her hips in a not so subtle way and continuing on up, the kunoichi seriously didn't think this dress was her size.

It was _way _too tight in all the wrong places.

But as the seventeen year old checked the tag that was safely tucked on the inside of her dress on the side, it read her size in clear print and the tightening in Sakura's chest just got a little worse. She was never, _ever_ going to let Ino pick out another outfit for her _again_!

With much dread, Sakura's attire emphasized her cleavage the most; the strapless dress cut purposely a little too low for her liking. With an already built-in push up bra, there was no way she could hide her supple flesh from popping out in an alarmingly great deal.

To make matters even worse, along with the black dress that she had to wear, Sakura was forced into wearing three-inch stiletto heels, causing her feet to ache even without having put them on yet. She had been told by her hypocrite of a shishou many countless times that heels weren't good for the arch of your feet, yet the large-breasted woman wore them anyways for as long as she could remember.

Sakura had told Ino this as she threw her own heels in Sakura's traveling bag, but did she care? No, not one flaming bit.

Sakura was going to _kill _her blonde friend when she got home, if she ever got home.

Kakashi was patiently waiting outside the hotel, leaning lazily on the side of a light pole with his signature yellow book perched in his right hand, his left stuffed in a pocket of his Jonin pants. It didn't matter where Kakashi was, he almost _always_ wore his Jonin pants, but tonight he excluded his Jonin vest and instead casually wore a long-sleeved, black shirt. A change up-yes, but nothing too dramatic for the Copy Ninja. After all, it was just a bar. Nothing too special or significant.

As Kakashi was waiting for his female student, the silver haired ninja took note of the many different people waltzing in and out of the phenomenal hotel while seeming to look as if he was still reading his porn novel. Most of the individuals walking in and out were women of high riches dressed in expensive ware, some flaunting their assets.

There were even a couple of young women who glanced a moment longer than just to be classified as an "ordinary glance". One was particularly a cute girl and looked to be just about Sakura's age (which caused Kakashi to question whether or not the speculations of him being a downright pervert really were true) as Kakashi took mere observation, her blonde wavy hair flowing down her backside as she exited the hotel.

The Copy Ninja glanced back at the doorway, hoping Sakura was to be the next one to come out so they could get to the bar and get a seat before it grew too crowded. Though as Kakashi took great notice of this woman's gorgeous, long legs and a black dress that barely covered her most secret areas, Kakashi knew he had lucked out.

Seeing if the woman was as beautiful in the face as she was her body, Kakashi had to do a double take. Was that _pink_ hair!? Who else in the world had pink hair besides his little Haruno Sakura?

_Nobody!_

Because the woman walking out of the hotel barely clad in just a short dress, _was_ his student; the student he had cared and practically nurtured for since she was just around twelve.

_Dear Kami._ Since when did that Haruno Sakura develop curves like that?! Kakashi had been with that girl-woman now, apparently-on missions for at least five years and, mind you, Hatake Kakashi was a _very _observant man. Sure Kakashi had seen glimpses here and there. It wasn't like he hadn't been to a bar with his little ex-student before and had seen her change in camp while on long missions, but with that dress on, Haruno Sakura could give Tsunade a run for her money and if Kakashi was comparing the pink haired kunoichi's not-so-subtle curves to Tsunade's, there was something terribly wrong with the situation.

"Um, are you ready?" Sakura feebly bit out as she came up to Kakashi, her arms folded over her chest in trying to hide herself in innocence when in actuality, all the action did was push her almost-popping out cleavage together, causing her breasts to look even bigger.

Such a bad illusion at such a wrong time. Maybe going out to the bar wasn't such a good idea anymore but it was too late to turn back. Kakashi was going to be a man and face his fears about what his student had become over the many teenager, much hormonal years of her life.

If Kakashi wasn't going to kill himself by the end of tonight, then it was simply Sakura and her _stupid_ dress of hers and those nice, endlessly long-

Kakashi brushed that image out of his mind as quick as it had arrived. Murder; murder was the only way to describe this! Sakura was inevitably killing him without her even knowing!

But as Kakashi thought more about it, his death had already started. This slow, treacherous and torturous death had already begun the moment Genma and Yamato arrived, relaying their once all around team mission was to change to a two-man mission and that this two-man team was to only include Kakashi and Sakura.

For once in his life, Hatake Kakashi hadn't realized and didn't know what had hit him.

This mission was going to be hell in more ways than one. The silver haired ninja decided to take it one day at a time because that way, his death wouldn't be so damn painful and _tempting_.

Kami be with him.

* * *

_End of **Chapter Two**._


End file.
